Drafts for Public Comment
In the course of preparation of a Communications Alliance Publication, a draft is released for public comment. Immediately below is/are the current draft(s) that is/are available for public comment. Drafts may be downloaded and reviewed off-line.
Want to submit a comment on a draft document?
You can use the Submit Comments form to submit your comments via email or go to the Contact Us webpage to obtain other contact methods such as by post.
All submissions received will be made publicly available on the Communications Alliance website unless the submitter requests otherwise.
Current Drafts for Public Comment
Once a period for public comment has ended the usual process is for the group that developed the draft (e.g. a Working Committee) to review any public comments on the draft and then work towards consensus on the content of the document, leading to publication of the document.
COMMENT SOUGHT ON DR C628:2025: TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONSUMER PROTECTIONS CODE
DR C628:2025 and
Public consultation questions
This Code sets out additional customer protection requirements for the interactions between Carriage Service Providers (CSPs) and consumers in areas where extra protections are required, over and above the requirements set out in economy-wide or telecommunications-specific legislation and regulation.
It also provides limited guidance on key consumer-related requirements and guidance covered elsewhere.
This draft represents a substantial update to the 2019 Code. Key changes are highlighted in the public consultation questions, which also includes a number of questions which Communications Alliance is particularly interested in understanding your views on.
You can use the Submit Comments form to submit your comments via email, or Contact Us for alternative options.
Please also contact us if you have any questions or require clarification on any issue.
All submissions received will be made publicly available on the Communications Alliance website unless the submitter requests otherwise.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD CLOSES AT 5:00 P.M. (AEDST) ON FRIDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2025
COMMENT SOUGHT ON DR AS/CA S008 A1:2024 Amdt No. 1/2025 to AS/CA S008:2020 Requirements for Customer Cabling Products Standard
AS/CA S008:2020 applies to Cabling Products (including Cable and related Customer Equipment) intended for connection to the customer side of the boundary of a Telecommunications Network. The proposed amendment is addressing an inconsistency with the flammability requirements in that Standard and AS/CA S009:2020, in order to align the cable product requirements with the installation practices specified in AS/CA S009.
You can use the Submit Comments form to submit your comments via email or go to the Contact Us webpage to obtain other contact methods such as by post.
All submissions received will be made publicly available on the Communications Alliance website unless the submitter requests otherwise.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD CLOSES AT 5:00 P.M. ON TUESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2025
Expired Drafts for Public Comment
Once a period for public comment has ended the usual process is for the group that developed the draft (e.g. a Working Committee) to review any public comments on the draft and then work towards consensus on the content of the document, leading to publication of the document.
The documents listed below are drafts on which the period for public comment has ended. These documents are provided for reference.
COMMENT SOUGHT ON DR C564:2024 MOBILE PHONE BASE STATION DEPLOYMENT INDUSTRY CODE
The Code is designed to:
- allow the community and councils to have greater participation in decisions made by Carriers when deploying mobile phone base stations; and
- provide greater transparency to local community and councils when a Carrier is planning, selecting sites, installing and operating Mobile Phone Radiocommunications Infrastructure.
- updates to how information is collected and used by Carriers to ensure alignment with the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles;
- consolidated timeframes for consultation with Council’s and Interested and Affected Parties;
- refreshed consultation notification templates along with amendments to how stakeholders are notified;
- removal of Appendix A and references to the Precautionary Approach. (This change aligns with the recently updated Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) Standard for Limiting Exposure to Radiofrequency Fields – 100 kHz to 300 GHz and the principles recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).
All submissions received will be made publicly available on the Communications Alliance website unless the submitter requests otherwise.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD CLOSED AT 5:00 P.M. (AEDST) ON FRIDAY 5 JULY 2024
Have Your Say: Revised Online Safety Industry Codes, Second Consultation Round
Six industry associations, including Communications Alliance, that represent the online industry in Australia have commenced a short second round of consultation on the draft online safety codes that opens today. Australia’s Online Safety Act 2021, which came into effect in January 2022, requires the development of codes by industry associations to regulate certain types of harmful online material, known as Class 1A and 1B material with reference to Australia’s classification scheme. This includes material promoting child sexual abuse, terrorism, extreme crime and violence, crime and violence, and drug-related content.
We have launched a second public consultation process today, inviting feedback on the draft codes that are available on the consultation website at www.onlinesafety.org.au. Feedback is proactively being sought from key stakeholders including consumer organisations, a diverse range of civil society groups, academics and industry. It is a public consultation and as such we encourage you to forward this on to other relevant stakeholders who may wish to contribute.
Hasn’t consultation on the codes already taken place?
Yes. In September 2022, industry associations launched a public consultation process on the draft codes.
- We published a response to submissions, explaining how industry responded to feedback received in the consultation in the draft codes submitted for registration.
- The draft codes were submitted to the regulator on the requested due date,18 November 2022, with a request for registration document and the response to submissions.
- eSafety provided a preliminary assessment of each the draft codes on 9 February (which can be found on this webpage), requesting that additional feedback be considered by industry prior to the codes being resubmitted to eSafety by 9 March 2023 to better address community expectations.
- The industry associations requested an extension to conduct a second 30-day public consultation on the draft codes to give the community and stakeholders an opportunity to express their views on the newly revised codes following the Commissioner’s feedback.
- An extension was granted by eSafety to resubmit the codes on 31 March 2023. This allows a two-week period of public consultation.
What happens after the second consultation period?
Once finalised, the Consolidated Industry Codes of Practice for the Online Industry, Phase 1 (class 1A and class 1B material) will be resubmitted with an updated request for registration to the eSafety Commissioner. Registered codes are enforceable by the Commissioner.
Is there anything else I should know about the draft codes?
The draft codes must cover a wide range of participants that operate in the online environment, including providers of social media, messaging, search engine and app distribution services, as well as internet and hosting service providers, and manufacturers and suppliers of any equipment that connects to the internet, including smart devices and computers. It is important to note that they also cover operators of all websites that can be accessed by Australian users.
The draft codes released today have been informed by research into community attitudes, industry working groups, and expert consultation, and significant input from eSafety; including through its September 2021 Position Paper.
How do I participate in the consultation?
You can download the draft codes at www.onlinesafety.org.au. Submissions should be uploaded to that website, and will be accepted until 23 March 2023.
We look forward to hearing your views, and can be contacted via hello@onlinesafety.org.au should you have any questions.
The industry associations can be contacted via hello@onlinesafety.org.au should you have any questions.
Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA)
BSA | The Software Alliance (BSA)
Communications Alliance
Consumer Electronics Suppliers Association (CESA)
Digital Industry Group Inc (DIGI)
Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA)
Comment sought on new Online Safety Codes
Six industry associations, including Communications Alliance, that represent the online industry in Australia have released new online safety codes for public consultation. Australia’s Online Safety Act 2021, which came into effect in January 2022, requires the development of codes by industry associations to regulate certain types of harmful online material, known as Class 1A and 1B material with reference to Australia’s classification scheme. This includes material promoting child sexual abuse, terrorism, extreme crime and violence, crime and violence, and drug-related content.
Once finalised, the Consolidated Industry Codes of Practice for the Online Industry, Phase 1 (class 1A and class 1B material) will be submitted for registration to the eSafety Commissioner. Registered codes are enforceable by the Commissioner. The draft codes released today have been informed by input from the Office of the eSafety Commissioner reflected in their September 2021 Position Paper.
The draft codes must cover a wide range of participants that operate in the online environment, including providers of social media, messaging, search engine and app distribution services, as well as internet and hosting service providers, and manufacturers and suppliers of any equipment that connects to the internet, including smart devices and computers. It is important to note that they also cover operators of all websites that can be accessed by Australian users.
The associations have launched a public consultation process today, inviting feedback on the draft codes that are available on a new consultation website at www.onlinesafety.org.au. Feedback is proactively being sought from key stakeholders including consumer organisations, a diverse range of civil society groups, academics and industry.
The draft codes and an accompanying explanatory memorandum can be downloaded at www.onlinesafety.org.au. Submissions should be uploaded to that website (i.e. not to the Comms Alliance website). The consultation period runs from 1 September to 2 October, 2022.
The industry associations can be contacted via hello@onlinesafety.org.au should you have any questions.
Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA)
BSA | The Software Alliance (BSA)
Communications Alliance
Consumer Electronics Suppliers Association (CESA)
Digital Industry Group Inc (DIGI)
Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA)